Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1887-07-02
$ II. =:
H.HiStorI' Of: Hd2eNture
BY J. RIDER HAGGARD.
CHAPTER XXI.

TUE DEAD AND LIVING MEET.
"Behold the place where have slept for
these 2.000 years." said Ayesba, taking
tho lamp from Leo's hand and holding 1t
above her head. Its rays fell upon little
hollow In the floor where had seen the leap
ing flame. but the fire was out now. They
fell upon the white form stretched there be-
meath its wrappings upon Its bed of stone,
upon the fretted carving OF the tomb, and
upon another shelf Of stone opposite the one
Oh which the body lay, and separated from II
by the breadth Of the cave.
Here went on Ayesha, laying her hand
upon the rock-"here have slept night by
night for all these generations with but q
cloak 10 cover me. It did not become me
that I should lie soft, when my spouse
yonder,r and she pointed 10 tho rigid form,
clay stiff in death. Here night by night
have slept In his cold company. till, thou
seest, this thick slab, like the stairs down
which we passed, has worn thin with the toss
ings Of my form--so faithful have been to
thee even in thy space Of sleep. Kallikrates.
And now, my love, thou shall see wonderful
thing-living, thou shalt behold thyself dead
for well have tended thee during all these
years, Kallikrates Art thou prepared"
We made no answer, but gazed at each
other with frightened eyes, the whole scene
was so dreadful and so solemn. Ayesha nd
vanced and laid her hand upon the corner Of
tho shroud, and once more spoke.
"De not affrightod," she said. Though the
thing seem wonderful to thee-all we who
1.-Two have thus lived before; nor Is the very
shape that holds US a stranger to the sun.
Only we know 1t not, becauses memory writes
no record, and earth hath gathered IN the
earth she lent U.S. for none have saved our
glory from tho grave. But /, by my arts and
by the arts Of those dead men Of Kor which
have learned. have held thee back, o Kali,
kiates, from the dust, that the waxy stamp
| Of beauty on thy face should ever rest before
mine eyo Twas mask that memory might
| fill, serving to fashion out thy presence from
the past, and give it strength to wander In
the habitations Of my thought. clad In a
murnmery Of life that stayed my appetite
with visions of dead days.
behold now. let the dead and living meet
Across the gulf Of time they still are one.
| Time hath no power against identity, though
slecp In mercy hath blotted ont the tablets Of
our mind, and with oblivion sealed the sor
rows up that else would hound us OH from
life to life, stuffing the brain with gathered
misery till it burst in the madness of utmost
despair. Still are they one, for the wrap
pings of our sleep shall roll away as thunder
clouds before the wind the frozen voices Of
the past shall melt In music like mountain
SHOWS beneath the sun, and the weeping ant
the laughter Of the lost hours shall be heart
once more sweetly echoing up the cliffs o.
immeasurable time.
"Ay, the sleep shall roll away, and til,
voices shall be heard, when down the com
pleted chain, whereof our each existence is
link, the lightning Of the Spirit hath passed t,
work out the purpose of our being; quicken
ing and fusing those separated days of life
and shaping them to a staff whereon we ma,
safely lean as we wend to our appointed fate
therefore, have no fear, Kallikrates, whel
thou-living, and but lately born-shall lool
upon thine own departed self, who breathe,
and died so long ago. do but turn one pag
in thy Book of Being, and show thee what
writ thereon.
"Behold!"
With sudden motion she drew the shrou,
from the cold form, and let the lampligh
play upon It, looked, and then shrunk bac
terrified, since, say what she might in expla
nation, the sight was an uncanny one-fo
her explanations were beyond the grasp @
our finite minds, and when they were sepaI
ated from the mists of vague esoteric philosc
ply, and brought into conflict with the col
and hurrifying fact, did not do much to bIea
its force. For there, stretched upon the storl
bier before us, ROBBED tn white and perfect
preserved, was what appeared to be the bod
of Leo Vincey. l stared from Leo, standin
there alive, to Leo lying there dead, and coul
.. see no difference, except perhaps, that tt
body on the bier looked older. Feature fc
feature they were the same, even down to I'll
crop Of little golden curls, which was Leo
most uncommon beauty. 1t even seemed I
me, as looked, that the expression of IL
) dead mans face resembled that which ha
sometimes seen upon Leo's when he WI
: plunged into profound sleep. / can only SUI
up the closeness of the resemblance by snyir
that never saw twins 50 exactly similar
that dead and living pair,
turned to see what effect was produce
upon Leo by the sight of his dead self, AZ
found it to be one Of partial stupefactio
He stood for two or three minutes starir
9 and said nothing, and when at last he spoil
n it was only to calculate:
q @Cover 1t up, and take me away"
4 aNay, watt" said Ayesha, who. standiI
with the lamp raised nbove her bead, aoodii
- with its light her own rich beauty and Z
: cold wonder OF the death clothed form up
tbs bier, looked more nke an inspired 81
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